Rehabilitation after flexor tendon repair, reconstruction, and tenolysis

Flexor tendon rehabilitation after injury and surgical intervention has progressed over the last several decades. This evolution has left a vast amount of information for the hand therapy clinician. The hand therapist treating a primary flexor tendon repair can easily feel daunted, confused, and apprehensive because of the sheer amount of information before him or her, which may lead to patient treatment with a textbook or cookbook approach. This article outlines the history of flexor tendon programs and their evidenced-based development so that the clinician can approach each patient individually and progress them with a personalized, tailored approach in close communication with the surgeon. Successful flexor tendon rehabilitation's end-result is functional hand motion and strength. As experimental studies on improved surgical techniques continue to develop, more clinical research to support rehabilitation techniques that lead to good hand function results are necessary.